The Heart of Everything
by CJ Moliere
Summary: Cousins living in two different worlds must unite to free themselves from the darkness inside themselves and each other. In Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin Strogoff is given a choice: sacrifice his dark power in the names of those he loves or hold onto it forever. In the Outer Zone, Azkadellia Ozpov must banish the witch from her soul or destroy her land and her family.
1. Prologue

**~ Prologue ~**

Storybrooke, Maine

A group of people stood frozen in the middle of the street. The person once known as Malcolm McDermott paced in front of them holding a small scroll in his hands. Centuries earlier he and his small son used a magic bean to travel to a place called Neverland. In that paradise Malcolm abandoned his son and his responsibilities as a father to become Peter Pan, an evil magician whose only love was power and to keep that power he needed the innocent heart of a descendant of the Ozian goddess, Lurline Diosa. That heart belonged to Henry Mills Gold, his own great grandson.

He hadn't counted on his son Rumplestiltskin, who had been possessed by Alemedia Demonia, the mistress of the Ozian hell realm Ephesis, to travel to Neverland with the boy's parents to take it and the boy back. They left Neverland confident they'd defeated him and he allowed them to, borrowing the body of his old accomplice to return to the land of his forefathers where his powers would be much stronger and he could conquer that world and make everyone in it his slaves and not even his son could stop him now. The boy was nothing but the village coward without his powers.

"Look at you all. A captive audience. I could play with you like a pack of dogs, couldn't I?" he taunted. Among those frozen were his grandson Baelfire, his great grandson Henry, that silly girl Belle, the Evil Queen Regina, Emma the Savior who couldn't save anything without a roadmap, the former cricket Archie Hopper, a formerly possessed Ozian sorceress named Azkadellia Ozopov and Snow White and Prince Charming. "I think I'll start with these two." he said as he now stood before Bae and Belle. "Hmm. You both look so adorable. Hard to tell who to kill first. No, it isn't. You. You first. " He pointed at Bae and was about to strike when he felt himself being pulled back.

"Stay away from them!" Rumple hissed.

It was time to end it. The most painful part was facing the ones he loved the most to say his goodbyes, even more painful to see them standing still unable to move or speak but their love for him made him stronger than he ever had been before.

"How about this? The worm has teeth," Pan taunted. "What, are you here to protect your wuved ones?"

"I'm not gonna let you touch _any _of them."

"Oh, I'd like to see that."

"Oh, you will. Because I have a job to finish, and I have to do whatever it takes. _No loopholes._ And what needs to be done has a price. A price I'm finally willing to pay," Rumple said bravely. He glanced over at his paralyzed son. "I used the curse to find you, Bae, to tell you I made a mistake. To make sure you had a chance at happiness. And that happiness is possible. Just not with me. I accept that."

"Pretty, pretty words," Pan was sneering.

Rumple ignored him. "I love you, Bae. And I carry a part of you with me...just as part of me will always be with you..."

Bae's cheek twitched and inside he was screaming, not wanting to lose his father now that they'd finally reconciled.

"Oh don't worry. You'll be reunited...in death." Pan laughed.

Rumple ignored him and glanced over at Emma. "Forgive my son Emma. He made a mistake, just as I did all those years ago. Forgive him for yourselves and for my grandson. Find the Tallahassee you dreamed about together. This is the last thing I'm asking of you."

A tear slid down the Savior's cheek.

Now his eyes met those of his young grandson, the box containing what was left of his heart in Henry's hands, visible to all but Pan. "You will be a great man and a great sorcerer someday, Henry. You will be the man I wanted to be all those years ago of that I am certain. You were raised well." He smiled at Henry. He walked over to where his cousin stood beside her bondmate. "I'm sorry we didn't have more time to get to know each other, cousin but I leave you in good hands. Bury the sorceress in the past and become the woman you were meant to be."

He now turned to the man at Az's side. "Archie, be a comfort to my family. They'll need you now more than ever."

Now Rumple looked over at Belle, his own bondmate, horror and despair in her beautiful blue eyes. "And I love you Belle," he said as he fought back his tears. "I never thought I could love that way again until that day I came to your father's castle. You saw both sides of me and even when I gave you plenty of reasons to leave; you came back and fought for me. I will see you again...just not in this life as we hoped and I'll wait for you...in the next one. You made me stronger, strong enough that I now know what I have to do and can do it...without fear anymore. "You all have. By believing in me even when I no longer believed in myself."

He faced his father again with grim determination. He had to succeed for his family. He no longer had a chance but he would give them one.

"Stronger, yes. But still no magic," Pan reminded him. "You removed it and the Dark One powers with that talisman, remember?"

"Oh, but I don't need it. You see, you may have lost your shadow but there's one thing you're forgetting." Rumple pointed out as he regained his composure.

"And what's that?" Pan sneered.

"So I have I," Rumple declared triumphantly. "I sent it away with something to hide." He raised his hand, willing his shadow to answer his call. The black specter flew toward him and placed his dagger into his hand and remerged with his body. He grabbed his father and held him to him, the blade of the dagger poised behind Malcolm's back, directly over their hearts.

"What are you doing?" Pan demanded as he struggled to free himself.

"Fullfilling the prophecy and protecting my family! You see, the only way for you to die, is if we both die. And now... now, I am ready!" Rumple snarled as he plunged the dagger into his father's back and through his own chest where what remained of the Dark One's essence was stored and twisted it to banish her back to Ephesis where she belonged as his father pleaded with him to stop.

A gold wave shot out from around them and all across Storybrooke, knocking everyone who stood in front of them off their feet, Henry still cradling the box containing the remaining portion of Rumple's heart in his arms protectively. The light surrounded father and son and as it cleared Rumple held his aged father's now still form, sobbing quietly and giving the man he once loved so much a kiss farewell on the cheek as he pulled the dagger out. He gently lowered Malcolm to the ground and closed the older man's eyes. "T...The...darkest of curses by a Strogoff was taken... and with my sacrifice...in the names of those I love...let this curse and all those created by it at last...be...broken!" he whispered and slumped to the ground beside his father, the front of his suit stained with his own blood and his father's. The dagger fell out of his hand and there was a blank space where his name was once engraved.

**Author's Notes: This new version of The Heart of Everything is a crossover with the Syfy miniseries Tin Man and a reworking of a story I published under another name years ago **_**Cold Heritage**_**. Some scenes from both shows will be the same but for the most part this is AU and those of you who read the previous versions of the Gold Chronicles and **_**Cold Heritage**_** there are going to be some drastic changes. I had my reasons for making them. You will find out more of what happened to Rumple in this alternate version of Going Home in later chapters and how his backstory fits into the Tin Man verse. **


	2. From The West He Is The Blade

1

~ From the West He Is The Blade Forged From the Fires of His Troubled Past ~

_Fly to a dream_

_Far across the sea_

_All the burdens gone_

_Open the chest once more_

_Dark chest of wonders_

_Seen through the eyes_

_Of the one with pure heart_

_Once so long ago_

_~ Nightwish - Dark Chest of Wonders ~_

Oz (The Outer Zone)

Centuries ago

In the beginning the primary protectors of Oz were the goddess Lurline Diosa and her consort Aramon. In his native land Russia, his name was Ivan Strogoff and he ventured into Oz by way of a portal. Lurline was the goddess of Paradise, the realm where the good people of Oz ascended when they made the transition from mortality to the afterlife. Her sister, Alemedia Demonia was the goddess of Ephesis, the realm where the wicked descended when they were cast out of Paradise. Although they could each lay claim to the souls of the mortals who have passed on into the afterlife, they were not to interfere in mortal affairs unless the actions taken by the mortals threatened their own existence.

Each goddess had her loyal followers. Lurline's followers, the Sons and Daughters of Light were human and the most loyal built a temple in her honor in the northern realm of Oz called the Temple of Lurline but in later years it would be known as the Grey Gale in honor of Dorothy Gale, another who crossed over from the other side into the realm and defeated Alemedia's first vessel, Bastinda, known as the Wicked Witch of the West and her sister, Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East. Any being who sought refuge on the grounds of this sacred temple would be under the protection of Lurline herself until the barrier was crossed. Alemedia's followers were mostly animals, specifically demons that were part monkey and part bat. Known as mobats, they were cast out of the mortal realm and given sanctuary by the dark goddess who made them into her own personal army that she could summon out of Ephesis through markings on the skin of her current vessel. Alemedia was not satisfied merely being the ruler of Ephesis. She wanted to take control of the mortal realm as well but in order to do this, she needed a vessel and there were none more powerful than her sister's human descendants, the Ozopov and Strogoff. When one of those could not be taken, she chose her vessels from among her human followers, the Sons and Daughters of Shadowlands by sending out a dagger that once held would allow her to take possession of the host's soul and use it to wage war on Lurline and the human race itself. The dagger would bear the vessel's name as long as she held its soul in her gasp. If the vessel was killed by the dagger, her essence would transfer to the one now wielding it. The only way a vessel could exorcise the demoness was to turn the blade on themselves…and that was never done. The vessels enjoyed the power the blade and the goddess gave them far too much to even consider freedom.

The girl felt like she'd been walking forever. She sat down underneath a large oak tree and cradled her newborn son in her arms. "I'll never let them find you," she vowed. "And I'll die before I'll ever tell them where you are," she added as she kissed the infant's small cheek. He looked so much like her and nothing like his father, much to her relief. A stranger in the Enchanted Forest, Berenika Strgoff thought she'd found a savior in Malcolm McDermott only the teenager and his charlatan of a father had taken all of the gold and jewels she'd sewn into her clothing to sell to support herself and sold them to gamble away or spend on their luxuries. Despondent, Berenika went on the run again only now she carried a child in her belly and sensed her pursuers had somehow arrived in the Enchanted Forest. Their powers, as strong as her own, would be able to sense the presence of a new member of their bloodline, one whose powers would be stronger than theirs if he learned how to use them. She could not let that happen.

Another tear cascaded down her cheek as she thought of her parents; Alexander and Glinda Strogoff, the famed Wizard of Oz and Glinda the enchantress of the Southern realm, a direct descendant of Lurline and Aramon themselves. They were dead, along with her cousins Queen Dorothy Gale and King Ozarian, murdered at the hands of her twin sister Zorinda. Their child, a girl named Ozma went into hiding.

Berenika reached around her neck and removed the ruby pendant she wore. It was the only piece of jewelry Malcolm and his father hadn't stolen because she'd disguised its appearance. To her pursuers Aramon's Talisman was a powerful weapon as it had the ability to render any magical user the wearer chose powerless temporarily and could also be used to remove their magic permanently if held to the victim's heart. She pressed the talisman against her son's chest, over his heart where his magic lay dormant.

"Rumplestiltskin," she murmured. The ruby glowed as it removed the child's magic. The only stone that could restore the child's magic or remove the talisman's spell was the emerald hidden in a secure location in her land. Her pursuers began their search for it once they realized she had the talisman in her possession for as long as she wore it, she had another defense if her own magic failed her. The task completed, she refastened the talisman around her neck and stood up. It was not much farther to the small cottage Malcolm called home. It grieved her that she had to place her son in his custody but she held onto the hope that once he saw his son, he would change his ways and be a good father to the boy. She named him Rumplestiltskin, meaning spinner of gold in Ozian for that was one of Aramon's many known abilities, spinning straw into gold.

A chill went down her spine as she sensed her pursuers were close by. She conjured a basket and placed the baby inside, covering him with a blanket then conjured a letter to Malcolm explaining that they boy was his son and signed it with the false name she'd given him when they met.

_This is your son. His name is Rumplestiltskin. Please take care of him. You are all he has now. _

_Marika_

"Goodbye my Rumple, my precious one. I am hoping one day we will meet again and you will forgive me but I fear it may be too late for me." She kissed the baby's small cheek and knocked on the door before vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

Malcolm opened the door and glanced down to see a basket on the doorstep. He pulled back the blanket and saw an infant inside, a letter pinned to the blanket. He unfolded it and read the words, unable to believe what he was seeing was real. A child? How could he have a child? He was still one himself and an orphan at that. His father was killed in a tavern two months earlier by one of the villagers outraged over being cheated out of his hard earned money by his and Malcolm's card scheme. The sheriff was also on the lookout for young Malcolm and if he didn't pack up and leave soon he was going to end up dead just like his father.

He looked at the baby again. There was no sense in denying the child was his...it had his look about him even though it was probably no more than a few days old. He picked up the basket and walked down to the orphanage. The matron opened the door and glared at him.

"What brings you here, scum?" she demanded angrily knowing well the boy's reputation...and his late father's.

"I found this on my doorstep and I thought you should have it." he said as he attempted to hand the basket to her.

"You won't be pawning your bastard off on me, scum!" she yelled. "If you'd kept it in your britches you wouldn't have it, now would you? And don't even think about dropping it off anywhere else in this town because it'll end up right back on yours. Now go on with you!" She slammed the door shut.

Malcolm groaned with frustration and started walking back to the house, laughing bitterly. "Well, you old son of a bitch, I bet you're enjoying this. Got myself in the same damned trap you did. Raising a babe without a mother. And what the hell kind of name is Rumplestilt..oh never mind? Oh well, guess I'll have to call it Rumple. Damn that witch! If I ever find her, I'll beat her within an inch of her life for this!"

Out in the forest a group of riders on horseback came to a stop in a clearing. Two of them dismounted just as a cloud of magenta smoke appeared before them taking the form of a black haired woman with grey skin and golden eyes. They bowed to her, Zorinda Strogoff, vessel of Alemedia, known throughout the land as the Dark One.

"Have you located her?" she demanded.

"No, Dark One but she is here…and she has given birth…"

"I think it's time to have a little chat with our prisoner. Bring him!"

The two soldiers dragged a haggard looking man over to where their mistress stood and threw him to the ground at her feet. He kneeled and raised his palm. There was an eye in the center of it. She reached into the seer's chest and pulled out his heart, squeezing tightly.

"Where is she!" she snarled.

"Right here Zorinda!" the girl called out as she appeared behind her. The Dark One sneered as she turned to face the spoiled brat she once called a twin. "Let him go."

"As you wish," the Dark One murmured and crushed the heart into dust. "Dispose of that," she commanded her soldiers, gesturing to the seer's corpse. "My sister and I have some matters to attend to."

They marched away dragging the corpse behind them. The two sorceresses faced each other. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this," the Dark One snarled. "Once I'm done with you I'll find that bastard you've spawned and crush him into dust too."

"You'll never find him," Berenika taunted and pulled the ruby pendant out of the collar of her dress. "Zorinda," she chanted, waiting for the ruby's magic to work. Zorinda giggled and pulled a pendant out of her own gown. Berenika gasped.

"You aren't the only one who knows its hiding place now, sister dearie. Mother thought she was so clever to hide that knowledge in her heart's memories but all I had to do was...dig it out." The Dark One waved her hand and the ruby pendant appeared in it. "Berenika..." she purred.

Berenika could only stand helpless as her magic was being stripped from her and her sister approached, thrusting her hand into her twin's chest to pull out her heart. As she attempted to access its memories a golden light shot out of it that threw the Dark One to the ground."

"W...What have you done?" the Dark One hissed.

Berenika smiled with satisfaction. "You should've paid more attention to your lessons, Zori. Even the Dark One's powers or the talisman can't break a protection spell on a heart's memories," she said triumphantly.

"No matter. I'll find your brat without them," Zorinda crushed the heart into dust and waved her hand. Her sister's corpse vanished. "Zozo!" she called to one of the soldiers in her command.

"Yes, Dark One?"

"Go to the village and search every house for a newborn boy!" she said.

As she mounted her horse Zozo patted his saddlebag where the Dark One's prized dagger would soon be. She'd hidden it well but Zozo was a clever man and all he had to do was watch in the shadows to see where she hid it. As he suspected it, she concealed the weapon in a chest given to her by her beloved father. Once the dagger was in his possession he would have the ability to control the bitch but he didn't want to control her. He wanted her power for himself and never again would he be a slave to someone like her. He would keep up the pretense of looking for the bitch's nephew for a little while but if the brat no longer had any magic he wouldn't be of any use to them. As for the damned ruby and emerald she had around her neck, he wasn't able to use the damned things...only those of Aramon's bloodline could use them, meaning her, the now dead sister and the brat, even without magic.

She tossed an object onto the ground and opened a portal that would take her back to their land. Zozo snorted. The trip could have waited until they were finished in the village but he knew she didn't want her precious daddy's charms within reach of one of her kin to be used against her. It wasn't one of her kin she needed to be wary of. Sometimes the worst enemy was one who pretended to be a friend and often the danger was not seen until it was too late.

Zozo stood over the corpse of the woman once known as the Dark One, Zorinda Strogoff, holding the dagger that once bore her name in his hand. As the dead woman's blood seeped into the blade, her name was replaced with his. He allowed her to return her father's precious trinkets to their hiding place before he struck. Had he not, she would have used them on him. The Dark One powers would not serve him well in Oz for there were other mages far more powerful than he in this land, particularly those of the Ozopov Royal Family, rumored to have been descended from the fairy goddess Lurline herself as had the Strogoffs been and his only other threat was now deceased. Berenika's brat, wherever he was in the Enchanted Forest, would not be a threat as long as he didn't find the ruby and emerald. Without magic he would have no means to get to Oz to reclaim them either. The Dark One tossed a token onto the ground in front of him and a funnel cloud appeared before him. He stepped inside and and closed his eyes, willing the storm to take him back to the Enchanted Forest. The other mages there were fairies and ones who learned the craft through studies of ancient texts. The normal humans would be easy prey for the darkest of all evils. If there was one thing he learned from the bitch Zorinda, it was how pleasing feeding on the needs of desperate souls could be and the Enchanted Forest was rich with them.

And rooted deep within his soul, the dark goddess Alemedia eagerly awaited the day when she could finally take possession of the last Strogoff. Unlike his Ozopov cousins, he was a pure blood, having magic in both bloodlines though his paternal magic's origins were from the same land as Aramon's. It was no matter. Through him she would bring Lurline and Aramon to their knees and all the realms would be hers.

The Enchanted Forest

A small boy sat in front of the wall outside a tavern waiting patiently for his father to come out. Once in a while he would say hello to someone who passed by and most of them would look down, see who it was, snort in disgust and walk away, muttering "Scum" under their breaths. He'd been hearing that world for as long as he could remember but when he asked his father about it, he would just laugh.

"Ah, pay them no mind, Rumple."

"Why do they call us scum, Papa?"

"Sore losers," he replied.

It wasn't just the adults he would hear the word from, the other children in the village would say it too while they chased him away when he asked them if he could participate in their games and most of the time they called him a rat too.

"You're not good enough to play with us, rat scum! Why don'cha go down to the tavern with your papa and steal some more of our fathers' hard earned money!"

"I don't steal!" young Rumple protested. "And neither does my Papa...he wins the money in games...he said so."

The boys laughed. "You really are dumb, aren't you? Your papa's a thief and a cheat. The whole village knows it and he deserves to rot in the king's dungeon."

"Stop calling my papa names!"

"What're you gonna do rat scum? Hit us? There's three of us and one of you. We'd make mush outta ya! Go on, git!" one of them said and shoved the smaller boy. Rumple fell to the ground, striking his head on a rock. The three other boys stood around the unconscious child terrified.

"Is he dead?" another asked.

"No, but we better get outta here before he wakes up and tells on us!"

The three boys fled unaware that they were being watched. A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows and kneeled beside the unconscious boy, waving his hand over the child's bleeding head and healing his wound. The boy lacked magic but there was something about him that called to the dark sorcerer. Perhaps it was his unfortunate upbringing...the son of a thief and a cheat, the grandson of a cowardly thief and a cheat. Ah, yes, an unfortunate upbringing was the ideal breeding ground for a desperate soul in adulthood as he knew from his own upbringing and his desperation made him Zorinda's slave. Now he feared no one and that was just how he liked it.

"I wonder what it will be that finally brings you to me, boy," he murmured. "You may not have need of me now...but you will...they all will for this land is filled with desperate souls."

The Dark One chuckled and vanished.

"Rumple...Rumple...Rumple! Come on laddie, let's get going!" his father said as he shook the boy awake. Rumple rubbed his eyes and pressed his hand to his forehead, stunned when he didn't feel a bruise. Hadn't he struck his head on a rock earlier? He was about to ask his father just that when he realized Malcolm had that look on his face again, the one that the boy knew meant that there was no time for questions. The door to the tavern opened and three men came running out.

"There's that cheating bastard! Get him!" one of them yelled. "You better run you coward because when I get my hands on you I'll string you from the tallest tree in Sherwood Forest!"

As Malcolm ran, pulling his tired and disoriented son with him, Rumple spotted the three boys he'd been arguing with earlier pointing at them and laughing. "Run along rat scum!" they taunted.

When they finally reached the shack that was their home, Rumple could barely keep his eyes open. He was also hungry...his father had forgotten to get them something for supper again. Thinking he would eat something later, Rumple lay on his pallet and fell back to sleep unaware that while he was asleep his father left the shack and went back into town again, angry when the money he'd taken from the patrons of the tavern would be just enough to buy something to eat for himself and the boy.

I'd have some left over if I didn't have him around, he thought angrily. That bitch. Drops this damned kid off on me while she's probably living in a grand castle somewhere with whatever's left of those fine jewels she had.

He woke the boy up a little later to eat. He wasn't much of a cook and the food tasted terrible but Rumple ate every morsel and washed all the dirty dishes. Had he not, they would've sat because his father never wanted to clean anything.

They'd been moving from village to village for as long as he could remember and always for the same reason: his father never could get a decent job and when he played his 'Follow the Lady' game in the taverns, someone would always accuse him of being a cheat. One day Rumple decided to go in the tavern with his father and watch him play the game. He shuffled the three cards around the table and flipped the middle one over to reveal a joker.

"What?" his customer demanded angrily.

"Don't feel too bad," Malcolm taunted. "You're not the only one who's been spurned by the lady tonight. She's been quite shy all evening." As he held up his arm, the customer noticed a card tucked under it.

"You tricked me!"

"What you gonna do?"

The man's reply was to deliver a hard punch to Malcom's face. As he hauled Malcolm up and shoved him against the wall with a hand around his throat and his other first ready to deliver another punch Rumple ran over to them and placed his hand on the man's arm.

"Please don't hurt him. He's my father!" the boy pleaded.

"You'd be better off without him!" the man said and punched Malcolm hard in the stomach. He fell to the ground and the man kneeled down, snatching the purse full of coins from his belt, an entire evening's worth of winnings that he wanted to use to have himself a pint. He assured the boy he would find a way to get back the money and sped off, leaving Rumple alone in the tavern.

The next day they traveled to a small cottage where the spinsters Moira and Tatiana lived. Rumple didn't want to stay with them, he wanted to be with his father. Malcolm assured him he would only stay with them until he got a real job only Moira and Tatiana knew this to be a lie. The man's reputation was well known even to recluses as they were and the poor child was better off without him. The only comfort the man offered his son was a straw doll Rumple named Peter Pan. The doll gave the child some comfort but the spinsters felt he needed more things to occupy his time. They started teaching him how to spin wool and were shocked when the boy proved to be a skilled spinner. It was his hope that he would be able to make money so that he and his father could be together.

The two women, difficult as it was, felt it was their duty to tell the boy the truth about his scoundrel of a father. Although he was a skilled wool spinner even at such a young age, his father's tarnished reputation would make earning a good living difficult for the boy once he became an adult. The only solution they had was a magic bean they found one day yet had no use for. They suggested the child use it to go to another land without his father yet Rumple loved his father and the prospect of going to a new land alone terrified him. He left the cottage and went to the pub, confident his father wasn't there only to be disappointed to discover that he was. Heartbroken, the boy fled the pub. Malcolm quickly caught up with him.

For a while it seemed that his father did want to make the fresh start he promised him in the place he called Neverland...until he became obsessed with wanting to fly. Rumple, terrified of heights, preferred keeping his feet on the ground and he was growing tired of his father acting more like a child there and wanted to leave. Then the monster came out of nowhere and seized him.

"A child can't have a child, Rumple," his father said as the shadow held him in the air. Rumple screamed in terror, trying to reach for his father. The shadow flew higher and the doll Rumple held in his hand fell to the ground, gesturing to his father who was no longer a man anymore but the child he wanted to be. Then the two of them flew out t of Neverland. The shadow said nothing as it dropped the child at the doorstep of the spinsters' home and disappeared. He reached for the knocker with a trembling hand and tapped it against the door. As soon as the women saw the weeping boy on their doorstop, they helped him inside and put him to bed promising him he would always have a home with them. As he lay there, he realized his benefactors had been right after all...he was better off without his father and he never wanted to hear the name Pater Pan again. His doll was gone forever...just like his father.

Although the pain of being abandoned by his father never truly went away, Rumple grew to love the two spinsters and to him, they were his family. The wool the three of them spun together sold well in the marketplace and Moira and Tatiana had their hopes that one day he would become the most sought after wool spinner in the village now that his foolish father was out of his life. Unfortunately, his father's reputation shadowed the boy and he was forced to prove he was nothing like his father constantly as he grew into adulthood.

The only bright spot he had was the day a beautiful woman approached his table at the marketplace, interested in buying some wool from him. For Rumple it was love at first sight. He was so captivated by her that he could barely get his name out when she asked for it.

"It's...ahh...Rumple...Rumplestiltskin," he stammered.

"Rumpleshtiltskin?" she mispronounced.

He chuckled. "No, no...it's Rumplestiltskin...but ahh...you can call me Rumple."

"That name's quite a mouthfull. Who gave it to you? Your father?"

"No...my mother."

"Oh. Well...I'll take some of this wool," she said and picked her selection, their hands brushing against each other as he was putting it in the basket she carried with her. He lowered his head so that she couldn't see the blush in his cheeks. She handed him the coins for her purchase.

"Thank you...ummm..."

"Milah," she answered.

Milah, he thought. Her name sounded as beautiful as she was.

"Thank you, Milah."

He watched her walk away, wondering if he would ever see her again. When he walked home that day he felt as if he were floating on air and was humming a tune. Moira was at her wheel spinning more wool for them to sell the following day as well as some blankets they weaved while Tatiana cooked their dinner.

"Well, it sounds like someone had a good day," she remarked. "Why Rumple...your cheeks are as red as roses! Are you ill, lad?"

"No...I..uh...met someone at the market."

"Oh?" Moira smiled. "And by the looks of you I'd say it was a lass."

"It was," he admitted.

The two women glanced at each other, grinning. Moira sat down at the table and motioned for him to join her. "It's good to see that you're finally starting to take an interest in the ladies, Rumple. You're not a boy anymore and soon you should be thinking about settling down and having a family of your own."

"You are my family," he said softly.

"Yes but we're not going to live forever, lad." She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "Don't you want to get married and have your own children?"

"I don't want to be a bad father...like him," he said bitterly.

"You are nothing like your father!" Tatiana said firmly. "Because you have the one thing he doesn't...a good heart."

"Not according to everyone in the village," he said sadly. "Oh, they are polite to me in the marketplace and buy the wool I sell yet I can see the scorn in their faces...and I'm never invited to any of the festivals or dances. And I'll probably never see her again."

He was surprised at the end of the week when Milah approached his table just as he'd finished packing up for day, so nervous that he dropped his purse of coins. They both bent over to pick it up, their heads knocking together, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry...are you hurt?" he asked worriedly as he helped her to her feet.

"No, I'm all right," she insisted and handed him his purse. "I was hoping to catch you before you left for the day...I'm a bit late, aren't I?"

"Ummm...no, not at all. What would you like?" he asked, indicating the items he had for sale.

"I don't need anything today."

His face fell. "Right."

"I...I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to spring festival with me tonight."

He was stunned. The most beautiful girl in the village wanted him to go to the spring festival? _Him?_ He was the son of a coward and a cheat, an unknown mother, raised by spinsters and she could take her pick of men in the village far more handsome. Why was she asking him when she probably had so many far more tempting offers?

"You look shocked Rumple."

"Well I...ahhh." He cursed himself for his shyness. "I...I never go to the festivals and no one has ever invited me."

"Then it's time you did go," she said firmly. "I'll meet you over at the spinsters house in the evening...say around five?"

"Okay."

She smiled. "Great. I'll see you then."

Moira watched from the doorway of Rumple's bedroom with a grin as the nervous young man raced around his room trying to find something suitable to wear to the festival and constantly glanced at his reflection in the cracked and faded mirror. She knew if she didn't calm him down he would not be ready by the time Milah arrived and would miss the perfect opportunity to be out among people and perhaps a woman he could finally have the family he needed. She went into her bedroom and retrieved the new outfit she and Tatiana made for him weeks earlier. He was still trying to get his boots on when he heard Milah knocking on the door. Once again he was at a loss for words when he opened the door and saw her standing there, a vision in a white dress. His hands trembled as he handed her the bouquet of flowers he bought at another market on the way home that afternoon.

All eyes were on them as they walked into the tavern that was hosting the spring festival. He knew what they were thinking: what was a beauty like Milah doing with him, the son of a coward and a cheat? Part of him wanted to turn and run while the other couldn't bear to leave Milah's sight. She started introducing him to everyone she knew, praising his talent as a spinner and a weaver while he remained humble. Still the word spread throughout the tavern that if you were looking for the finest wool in the village, Rumplestiltskin was the one to go to and soon he found that people were willing to talk to him more.

"After a while, people aren't even going to remember your father," Milah assured him. "Come on, let's dance!"

"I don't know how," he confessed sadly.

"No better time to learn then," she said as she pulled him out to the center of the room where the others danced gaily. He stepped on her toes several times yet instead of being angry, she simply laughed it off and playfully stepped on his. "There...now we're even."

Now for the first time he found himself thinking that he could settle down and have a family...be a better man and father than his father was and there was no other bride he wanted more than the woman he was holding at that moment. Being at the spring festival was just the start. From that night on, what time he didn't spend in the marketplace or at home was devoted to his courtship of her. Every morning she would open her front door to find a bouquet of freshly picked flowers on her doorstep and a note asking her to meet him somewhere. They would have picnics in the forest and he would present her with gifts of shawls and blankets he weaved himself. Her parents didn't approve of him because of his father's reputation despite Milah's insistence that he was nothing like the infamous Malcolm. Her parents were forced to change their minds when Milah started inviting him into their house. Although he was still a bit shy, it was obvious to both of them that he truly cared for their daughter. They'd been courting for over a year when he finally worked up the courage to propose marriage and ask for her parents' blessing.

Their wedding was a small, simple affair as were many in their village. He didn't mind. The only thing that mattered to him was that he could finally be with the woman he loved and one day their lives would be complete when she brought their first child into the world.

Every village in the Enchanted Forest was gripped with fear as the ogres marched across the land, destroying lands, destroying lives as children lost fathers, wives lost husbands, and mothers lost sons. Every able bodied man was being called to the front lines to fight, so many of them not returning at all and very few of them returning barely clinging to life. In the small village where the spinner and weaver Rumplestiltskin lived with his wife Milah, every day was much like the one before it. They spent most of the morning in the marketplace selling the wool they spun and he was teaching her to weave so that she could make her own items to sell and double their income. They even talked about starting a family, holding off until they felt they were bringing in enough income to support a child.

One day Rumple was minding their table in the marketplace alone when a soldier approached him.

"Are you Rumplestiltskin?" he inquired.

"Yes. Yes I am." he answered.

The soldier handed him a scroll. The spinner unrolled it and read the contents, smiling.

"You will report for training in the morning," the soldier informed him.

"I must tell my wife..."

"Then do so."

Rumple raced home with the scroll in his hand. This was the chance he'd been waiting for his whole life. If he fought bravely in the Ogre Wars he would no longer be branded the son of a coward and a thief and he would at last be given the opportunities for success that eluded him all his life. When he opened the front foor he found his wife at work weaving.

"MIlah," he greeted warmly.

"I'm almost finished," she said proudly as she held up the shaw she was working on.

He smiled. "Well, you learn quickly."

"I had a good teacher," she said and kissed him. "What is it? What brings you home so early?"

"Milah, my weaving days are behind us. I've been called to the front." He handed her the scroll. She frowned as she read it.

"The Ogre Wars..."

"I report for training in the morning."

"No, Rumple! I've heard the stories. The front is a brutal place." she said fearfully.

"Dear, I know, I know. And I can't say I won't be frightened. But this is the chance I've been waiting for. All my life. You know, I've lived under the shadow of my father's actions for far too long now," he reminded her.

"Just because your father was a coward that doesn't mean that you are."

"Oh, I know that. As do you. But to the world? Fighting in this war finally gives me the chance to prove that to everyone else," he said.

Milah beamed with pride. She knew this couldn't be easy for him but she was glad he was willing to take the chance. "Go. Be brave. Fight honorably," she told him offering him what little encouragement she could.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," she murmured as they kissed. "And when you return, we can live the life we've always dreamed of. We can have a family."

He was grinning from ear to ear as he made his way to the training camp. A family. There was nothing more he wanted than to have a child of his own. He didn't care if it was a son, a daughter or both. He would love his children and they would love him. They wouldn't have much in the way of material possessions unless his luck changed but what did it matter when you lived in a home full of love?

Learning how to use a sword and a spear was far more difficult than spinning and weaving and he was not having much success at it. No matter how hard he tried, he never could get his spears to reach their targets and his sword strokes were too weak. He could feel the commanding officer's eyes on him and imagined the thoughts going through his head. Still he kept trying. They decided to teach him how to shoot arrows and unfortunately he almost shot one of the other trainees.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a poor shot myself," one of them assured him. "Just keep trying and you'll get better at it."

The next lesson he had was at the catapult. He could barely lift the rocks to throw onto it so they decided to teach him how to operate it. He felt like dancing a jig when he managed to fire it without any difficulty.

"Looks like we've finally found something you are good at here, spinner."

"I'd like to keep trying the sword and spear lessons too sir," Rumple said softly.

"Maybe in the morning."

He was walking back to his tent when another of the commanding offers stopped him.

"I'm needed at the front. You guard this crate with your life." he instructed as he gestured toward a crate that was covered.

"What's under there?" Rumple inquired curiously.

"A prisoner that can help us turn the tide against the ogres. Careful. It's a tricky beast."

"Yes, sir."

Rumple walked toward the crate, curious to see what was inside until he remembered the officer's warning that it contained a tricky beast. He turned his back to it, following his instructions to simply guard it and nothing more.

"Rumplestiltskin..." he heard a female voice call out. He heard movement inside the crate and approached it slowly, fearing what he would find in there. What would the beast do to him? Would it seize him with his massive claws and tear him to pieces. He pulled back the canvas and gasped in shock when he saw a young girl inside...a girl who had no eyes!

"You're a child..." he murmured.

The child tilted her head and gestured toward the bucket at his feet. "Please. I haven't had a sip in days."

He was stunned. How could the child know there was a bucket of water there when she had no eyes? And how did she know his name?

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"I'm a Seer. I see all," the child explained.

"No, no, no, that's not possible. You must have overheard someone speak."

She held up her hand with a bright blue eye in the center. "Rumplestiltskin, the son of a coward, raised by spinsters, scared of ending up just like his father. Did I overhear that? I told you. I see all, even what is yet to pass."

"You mean the future? You can see the future?" Rumple inquired curiously.

"Indeed I can, including yours," she replied.

" No, no, no. I won't indulge this... dark magic."

He'd had enough experience with magic to last a lifetime, magic that came in the form of the bean he'd used to take himself and his father to Neverland thinking that they could start over, only he'd been abandoned and his father was now a child again. No good would ever come from magic.

"Even if what I see concerns your wife? Milah?"

He flinched. Oh, this girl was a tricky one all right, knowing exactly what to say. He could hear a warning voice in his head telling him to just put the canvas back over the crate and walk away while another, stronger voice spoke.

_Listen to her. _

"Why? Has something happened to her?" he demanded.

The seer once again asked for water. He handed her a cup and asked her to explain herself, stunned when she informed him Milah was with child. He certainly knew it was possible but how could he believe this creature. Surely she was only telling him what he wanted to hear in exchange for comfort or possibly to escape her confinement. What she said next sent a bitter chill through his bones.

"Your wife will bear you a son, but your actions on the battlefield will leave him fatherless."

"I'm gonna die? No, no, no. You...you must tell me how I can stop that happening."

"You can't."

"Then I'm done helping you!" he said angrily.

"For now. Someday you'll help me again."

_That's what you think, _he thought bitterly.

"I'll bet Milah isn't even pregnant. You just said that so I would give you water, and now you're trying to trick me into deserting!" And that was one thing he didn't want to do. His father had been a deserter, not of the army but of his familial responsibilities...just like his mother and he would not repeat their mistakes. No, he would stay and fight with honor as Milah wanted him to. He would make himself a husband to be proud of. No longer would his father's shadow haunt him.

"You shall see. Tomorrow. When you see the army ride cows into battle, you will know I speak the truth," she insisted.

"Cows? And who's going to man the catapults? Milk maids? I have had enough with your fiendish lies."

"There is no escaping it. You will have a son, and your actions will leave him fatherless."

Rumple yanked the canvas down over the crate. "Crazy witch! Does she honestly expect me to believe we'd actually ride cows into battle when we have horses aplenty in this land?" he muttered and sat down. An hour later another soldier was sent to relieve him so that he could have something to eat. He tried to put the seer's words out of his mind.

_Your actions will leave him fatherless..._

The battle was over for the day and the survivors returned with the wounded. One man was missing an arm and he was added to the list of the few who would be returned home and Rumple was learning quickly that being disabled or dead were the only two ways anyone made it home. Their commanding officer returned.

"Fortune favors us! Fresh supplies have arrived from the Duke. Today, we will not be marching into battle. We'll be riding."

When you see the army ride cows into battle, you will know I speak the truth.

"Riding? Riding what?" Rumple asked worriedly.

"What kind of question is that? A horse, of course. Now grab yourself a cow and get ready."

_Oh no! No, no, no...she was right...I am going to die...and my son will be fatherless...just as I was!_

"I'm sorry, sir. What did you say?"

"A cow. The saddles we just got in—made from the finest leather. We call'em "cows." Grab yours, so at least the ride into doom will be a soft one on your backside."

Rumple paled.

"Are you all right?" one of the other soldiers asked.

"Yeah. Yes. You...You go. I'll catch up." he said quickly and the other man left. "Oh, no. So it's all true. I'm going to have a son. And I'm gonna die? Answer me!" he demanded when he approached the canvas and pulled back the cover. To his dismay it was empty. He shook it frantically then backed away with exhaustion. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a hammer lying out.

I have to...for my son. Milah, forgive me...but I cannot leave my boy without a father...not like he left me.

He raised the hammer and swung in, screaming in agony as his ankle breaks. The noise brings a group of soldiers running to his side.

"Rum! Hell's fury, what happened?" one of them asked.

"I...I..."

"I saw the whole damned thing!" another growled. "I shoulda known. Your father was no good coward and he raised one!" He shoved Rumple. The injured spinner fell to the ground.

"Is this true? Did you deliberately injure yourself?" the commanding officer interrogated.

"Ummm..."

"Go on...lie through your teeth, coward!"

"Yes I did!" Rumple moaned.

"I won't have a coward in my regiment." the commander snapped as he walked away.

"They should kill you and put your head on a pike!" another yelled.

"Oh no...once word gets out what he's done, that'll be a far worse punishment."

"Hope it was worth it, Hobblefoot! Go on, get out of here!"

Rumple began the long journey back home, fighting back tears as he used the broken end of a spear for support. Yes, he would be branded a coward but if the seer's words were true, he would have a son waiting for him at home, a son who would have a father. For that reason alone, he had no regrets. He arrived home a week later, overjoyed when he opened the door to his home and found his wife cradling a baby in her arms.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"Baelfire."

"A strong name!" he said proudly and sank to the floor in pain.

She glared at him. "Something he'll need if he's to live with the shame of being your son," she said bitterly, berating him for injuring himself. She'd heard the news from the wife of one of the other soldiers sent home, one who received his own injuries in battle, accusing him of being just like his own father.

"I am nothing like my father. He tried to abandon me. I will never, ever do that to my son. That's why I did this...for him. All for the boy. To save him from the same fate I suffered, growing up without a father!" he defended. She would hear nothing of it. She thrust the baby into his arms and stormed out of cottage. Rumple cradled his son to his chest, weeping softly. "Oh. Oh, it's all right, Bae. It's all right. Your Papa's here. And I promise... I will never... ever leave you."


	3. From The North She Is The Stone

2

~ From The North, She Is The Stone of the Land and the Voice of Logic and Reason ~

_This is me for forever _

_One of the lost ones _

_The one without a name_

_Without an honest heart as compass…_

Nightwish – Nemo

Oz (The Outer Zone)

Centuries later

From the moment she was born, Azkadellia Andromeda Ozopov showed that she was a child who possessed wisdom far beyond her years. Born to Queen Lavinia, the current living descendant of the great Dorothy Gale and King Ozarian Ozopov, himself a descendant of Lurline, she also showed promise of being one of the most powerful mages in all the realms. Her only flaw according to the Ozian people was that her father was not an Ozian but a slipper named Tyler Bennett and he was a hot air balloonist and aspiring artist from Kansas who was at the Nebraska State fair when his balloon crossed the barrier that divided the worlds and crashed in front of the lake at the summer palace in Finaqua and the then princess Lavinia was smitten. The Queen was not pleased and made several unsuccessful attempts to remove the stranger from Oz but finally relented when Lavinia refused every other suitor the Queen placed before her.

Azkadellia received the education worthy of a future queen of Oz and even some skills no other heir before her ever learned. Her tutors were Miles Toto, a shapeshifter who taught her magic, politics, and history while the Ambrose Benu, the captain of the queen's personal guard taught her self-defense and the sciences since his hobby was inventing things. Both men knew from the moment she was born she would be more than the Queen of Oz. She was one of the four Guardians of the Balance, standing at one of the two most powerful gates: the North Gate. The only guardian whose powers were greater than hers was Rumplestiltskin, who would take his rightful place at the West Gate once he was free of the Dark One curse.

Azkadellia was also an observant child and noticed that not everyone in the realm was pleased with her mother's government, particularly those in the Western part of the country. They were farmers and laborers who felt the palace only catered to the nobles and merchants leaving them to fend for themselves. Her mother never made progresses to that part of the realm, instead she chose representatives to travel to those villages to speak for her. Miles and Ambrose were well aware of the hostilities brewing in the Western realm and tried to convince the queen to be more attentive to them but she was convinced her representatives were capable of diffusing the situation while she devoted most of her time to her growing family.

Azkadellia was seven years old when her sister Dorothia was born. Dorothia had been named after Dorothy Gale herself but everyone called her "DG" for short and once she was born, the queen devoted most of her time and energy to her youngest child. Dorothia was her "angel". Az paid it no mind, she adored her sister as much as her parents did and loved spending time with her but was also adamant about keeping up with her lessons.

One day while she was walking through the woods with Ambrose she paused in her tracks.

"What is it Your Highness?" he asked softly.

"I wish to learn the path of the dragon. Will you teach me?"

"Your Highness I cannot take an apprentice until I have passed the trial myself," he said, shocked that she knew now what he was. The Talons of the Dragon were an ancient order charged with protecting the four Guardians of the Balance and on rare occasions a Talon was chosen to be a Guardian's bondmate. Their training was similar to that of a samurai warrior on the other side with their primary weapons being katana swords. Some Talons were also mages but preferred to engage in physical combat first since using too much magic drained them quickly. A Talon was identified by a specific set of markings and their locations on their bodies depended on which side of the bloodline they protected. An Ozopov Talon was marked with two crossed katana swords on the upper right arm and a sleeping dragon on the right shoulder blade. The Guardians themselves often asked to be trained as Talons, one of them being the legendary Dorothy Gale.

"But you're ready. I've seen you spar with General Lannot and you have been teaching me the art of mindspeak and some simple fighting skills. You are ready," she declared.

He led them over to where a large tree had fallen and they sat down. "Only my master can decide if I'm ready Az, but I appreciate your confidence. I have no doubt that one day you will be as great a Queen as Ozma and Dorothy."

"I will not spend my days just sitting on my throne hearing news of the realms second handed. No, I will do as Dorothy and Ozma did and visit them. I will hear their opinions with an open mind and act in their best interests. And I would like for you and Toto to serve as advisers during my reign."

Ambrose chuckled. "You have a long wait before you take the throne, doll."

"I know but you know as I do, there are problems in this realm that Mother pays little mind to. The situation in the West…"

He sighed. Were he the queen's adviser he would suggest that she visit the realm and speak to the people directly. He feared Lavinia's lack of interest in the unrest brewing in the west would led to secession, mimicking a situation that arose many times on the other side…costly, bloody civil wars.

"Az, all we can do now is hope that your mother decides to act in the best interests of Oz and its people. Come on. I should be getting you back to the palace or you'll miss your magic lesson and Toto will turn into a dog and bite my ankles."

The princess giggled knowing it was something her bodyguard never enjoyed having done to him. "You haven't answered my question. Will you teach me the path of the dragon…and show me that new machine you're working on?"

Ambrose found it impossible to say no to her when she looked at him with those wide brown eyes. "I'll show you my machine…and teach you the basics. The sword fighting you can't learn until you're thirteen. That's the law."

She threw her arms around him. "I will be thirteen and two months! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"Oh, I think I do, doll." He took her hand in his and escorted her back to the palace. Lavinia was sitting out on the gazebo swing holding DG on her lap as she sang to her.

"_Two little princesses dancing in a room _

_Spinning fast and free on their little toes _

_Where the light will take you there's only one way to know_

_Two little princesses dancing in a room…"_

"Ah, you're back. Perfect. Azkadellia, you may relax a bit. I'm going to conduct DG's lessons first," Toto said to her.

"Go along my angel…" Lavinia murmured.

Az sat on a bench in the garden to read a book while Toto and DG were standing beside the lake. Toto held a doll of DG's in his hand. "Concentrate DG. You must let the light flow through you effortlessly. Remember…light as air."

"Toto…"

"It's Tutor. Now focus."

"I am but this thing won't float," the six year old whined. Az jumped off the bench and approached her, placing one hand on DG's shoulder and using her free one to take DG's.

"It will. It wants to. Just concentrate Deege," she coached softly, sending her sister some of her magical energy as she'd been taught to do years ago. The girls' hands glowed with a golden light and they closed their eyes as they concentrated on the task at hand. Slowly the doll rose in the air and begin spinning wildly like a ballerina on a stage.

"Yes! Yes!" Toto exclaimed. _The North and South gates, bound by love and blood. Together they will stand and defeat any enemy, divided they will fall. _

The girls opened their eyes, identical smiles on their faces as they observed the rewards of their teamwork.

"Well done, my angels," Lavinia applauded. "Well done."

"Thanks Az," DG said and hugged her sister.

"It's going to take you some time to get used to using your magic and you'll have a bit of trouble at first but I'll be right here when you need me," Az vowed.

Ambrose stepped out of his hiding place and approached the queen, amazed by the power radiating from the two girls. Toto was an excellent teacher but Azkadellia had far more patience with the headstrong and adventurous DG. "Your Majesty, the council is requesting your presence."

"I will only be gone for an hour or two. Do not go too far my angels and remember that you are not supposed to venture into the woods alone."

"Yes, Mother," Az said softly.

Once the others were out of sight DG turned to her sister, giving her the puppy dog look. "I'm hungry. Can't we gather some apples?"

"You heard what Mother said…"

"We won't be gone long. Pleeeeaaassee!" DG begged.

Az was feeling a bit famished herself and performing complex spells required her to eat to recover her strength. "All right but we're just going to pick some apples, not go wandering too far into the woods."

Az knew from her own walks in the woods with Ambrose that that some of the apple trees were a cantankerous lot and tended to become hostile when people wanted to pick the fruit from their branches. As Az reached up to pick a juicy red apple from the first tree they encountered, one of its limbs struck her and knocked her to the ground.

"Begone! Pillage one of the other trees!" it yelled.

"We mean you no harm," said the land's guardian. "We're only hungry and would like to eat some of your delicious apples, if you would be so kind…"

"No. Go away and bother some other tree."

"But yours has the ripest fruit…"

As DG stood there witnessing the exchange between her sister and the tree she could see in her mind the legendary Dorothy Gale and Scarecrow talking to the very same tree, the Scarecrow taunting it and making faces so that it would throw fruit at them. She smirked.

"Come on Az. That fruit looks ripe but it probably has ugly old worms in it just like that old tree." She blew as raspberry at the tree.

"Why you little brat! See if these have any worms in them!" the tree yelled and chucked apples at the fleeing girls. They kneeled down and gathered up as many of them as they could, using their aprons as baskets. "And stay away!" the tree called after them.

"It was clever of you to trick that old tree into throwing fruit at us,"Az praised when they were out of earshot.

"I heard tell of it once…in a story from the past," DG explained.

"We should get back before Mother realizes we're gone or we'll be history too. We are not supposed to be out here alone. She says there's wild animals in the forest."

"Did she say what kind of…wild animals….?" DG inquired shakily, spotting a bear nearby.

"Lions and tigers and…"

"Oh my!" DG cried out. The girls dropped their apples when the bear started stalking towards them. DG grabbed her elder sister's hand and pulled her back. "Az!"

"Just hold my hand Deege. Nothing can hurt us if we stay together!" Az begged, keeping a firm hold on DG's hand and casting a protection spell around them as the bear stood on its haunches and let loose a loud roar. Both girls were terrified, Azkadellia knowing that her spell would not hold if DG released her grip. Seeing her older sister being so brave was making DG feel brave and she held on tighter.

The bear gazed at them for several minutes, contemplating its next move until it realized it was in the presence of two of the Guardians and realized any attack on them would lead to its own demise. It lowered its head in submission and retreated back into the woods from where it came. Az released DG's hand, both of them sighing with relief.

"We really do need to get back," Az reminded her and the two of them raced out of the woods, frightened when they found their mother waiting for them with a frown on her face.

"What did I tell you about going into the woods alone?" she demanded angily. "Azkadellia, I expected better from you!"

"It was my fault Mother. I wanted some apples so I tricked that mean old tree to throw them at us and Az wanted to come back but we saw a bear. She was so brave….she made me feel brave and we made the bear go away with our magic!" DG rambled.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Az said sadly, her head bowed in shame.

"I am very disappointed in both of you and as punishment you are confined to the palace for a week. Come along."

Azkadellia kept herself occupied during her confinement by reading and practicing her magic. In three weeks she would turn thirteen and hoped that Ambrose would keep his promise to her and begin training her to fight with a sword.

"I haven't forgotten my promise, doll. Your sword is being constructed as we speak."

"It is?"

He removed his own from its scabbard and held it out to her. "Do you see the image of an ear of corn here? That is my symbol and this sword cannot be used by anyone else but me. Yours will be the emerald itself."

"Why?"

"It's who you are, doll. You are the North Gate, keeper of the stone of the land."

"I…I'm a Guardian…one of THE Guardians?"

"You and DG. She is the South, the keeper of the chalice of water. The West Gate is Rumplestiltskin and the East will be one of his kin."

Az shivered. "He…he's the Dark One!"

"His curse will be broken and you will be instrumental in breaking it…along with his bonded, Lady Belle Lavalliere and the East Guardian."

"He's on the other side now, isn't he…without his power…because of a curse cast by Queen Regina?"

"He is but recall the prophecy: _The darkest of curses by Strogoff taken and through his sacrifice in the names of those he loves, the curse by a Strogoff shall be broken_," Ambrose recited.

"The death of a Guardian will disrupt the balance,"Az reminded him. "Unless a new one has been chosen."

"One has but I think Ozmalita has been too hasty. The person she has chosen has no magic in his blood at all while Rumplestiltskin is a pureblood as all Strogoffs are. He will break his curse. I'm certain of it….once he learns his bonded still lives."

"She is believed to be dead."

"But she's not, not according to our spies. We could not risk the girl being killed…it would disrupt the balance more than it already is as long as the four of you are unbound."

"Who is my bondmate?" she asked, wishing with all her heart he would answer that he was. For so many years she thought of him as a friend but in recent months her feelings started to change. She knew he was much older but she didn't care. There was no one else she wanted to be her consort though her mother presented her to the boys from every noble house in the realms as a possible candidate for her hand.

"I don't know, doll. That answer is locked in your heart's memories and it will only be revealed to you when the time's right. Come on. Your father wants to take you and DG to his art studio today."

Az smiled. It was the first chance she'd get to spend time with her father in weeks. He and Lavinia had finally been forced to travel to the Western realm to put down a small rebellion and little as she liked it, the council recommended the ringleaders be hanged in Central City square.

Ahamo set up an easel in front of the studio and made a sketch of the forest for his daughters to paint, making sure that the objects were large enough that DG could paint them easily. Both of his girls were artistic but DG seemed to be better at sketching. Once the painting was finished they handed it to their mother to be framed and hung in the gallery of the Finaqua palace. In the winter they would travel to the Northern Island palace.

"I think I'll go for a walk," Lavinia said softly.

"Hold on, I'll come with you." Ahamo offered.

"Can we come too, Daddy?" DG asked.

He smiled. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you two wait here and make me something…something that I can keep forever?" he suggested.

"We can do that," Az declared happily.

They found some clay in one of his trunks and spent most of the afternoon sculpting them into human shapes and painted them, DG's was a little girl in a red dress and yellow boots while Azkadellia's was a preteen in a green dress and black boots, the same outfits they were wearing that day. The girls took the dolls into the studio and Az placed them on the table.

"Leave them here. He'll find them when he comes back with Mother."

"Do you think Father will know they're from us?"

"Well he told us to make him something he could keep forever and he did teach us how to sculpt clay."

"What if they're touched with our magic?"

"Good idea." The girls held their hands over the dolls and they began to glow with white magic, near where their hands were nearly joined together. "Now he'll definitely know. C'mon."

Ahamo and Lavinia were delighted when they found the little gifts their daughters made for their father. Ahamo couldn't have been more proud. On the other side his daughters would have been famous for their talents. One day Az did want to journey to the other side to see what she could learn from it that could help her in her most ambitious project when she took the throne in her own right; modernizing Oz.

"Daddy, do you want to skip stones across the lake with us?" Az asked him. His face fell.

"I'd love to honey but I have a meeting with the council."

Az sighed. "All right…c'mon Deege."

Az picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the water. "Flat rocks glide."

DG picked up a round stone and tossed it but it sank into the the water. "Round rocks die."

"We need to find the perfect stone. Come on!" Az said excitedly and the two of them began searching the grounds. As DG was searching she discovered a flat stone that was almost the shape of a heart.

"It's perfect," she cried, holding it up. "Let's save it."

"We'll hide it…for the perfect day," Az declared. The girls buried the stone under a pile of rocks and sang softly.

"_Two little princesses dancing in room _

_Where the light will take them no one ever knows_

_Two little princesses dancing in a room..." _

Storybrooke, Maine

Alemedia was enjoying her new surroundings. For centuries she longed to have an opportunity to cross over to the other side and her vessel and his former apprentice provided her with the perfect opportunities to do so. Her magic was inactive in this land and it would be until Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter broke the curse that had been cast on this town called Storybrooke. Still, the people in the town feared her and Rumplestiltskin who was known as Robert Gold in this land. That fear was what sustained her through the years of boredom and to her disappointment she still could not find a trace of Rumplestiltskin's bondmate, Azkadellia's bondmate or the East Guardian. They were on this side. She was certain of it. She would take care of them and Bastinda would destroy the others in Oz. The seal to the gates of Ephesis was weakening as it came closer to the time of the final eclipse. Soon her apprentice would call out and the weakest of the Guardians in Oz would answer.

Oz (The Outer Zone)

In the distance DG could hear a voice screaming out in terror.

"Did you hear that?" DG asked her.

"Hear what?"Az hadn't heard anything.

The voice screamed out again.

"We should go see what it is." DG insisted.

"No, we should get back. Mom said to stay close." Az advised.

"If we did everything Mom said we'd never have any fun. Come on, it's like an adventure!" the little girl said excitedly and ran into the woods.

"Your adventures have a way of getting me into trouble!" Az cried, hurrying after her.

DG followed the voice deep into the woods and down a hill to a cave. Az noticed some markings above the entrance, recognizing them as being part of the picture language of the ancients, chronicling the battle of the first eclipse where the great Dorothy Gale, Glinda the Good, Ozarian Ozopov and Alexander Strogoff defeated the dark witch Bastinda and imprisoned her for all eternity.

"Do you hear that?" DG asked again. It sounded like a child crying for help.

"We should go get our mom and dad," Az said. DG started to go into the cave, almost as if she were being drawn to into it. "Your adventures have a way of getting me into trouble!" she reminded her sister again, hoping she would come back but DG was determined to have her adventure. Frustrated, she followed her sister into the cave.

She found a lantern on the ground and lit it with her magic, finding her sister staring at another series of drawings on the wall of the cave.

"Look at this."

"It's the picture language of the ancients."

"Can you tell what it means?" DG asked her.

"Some. At the dawn of time, good battled evil and the light conquered over the darkness…and something about an evil witch."

They went further into the cave and suddenly Azkadellia stopped, tired of exploring. "Well, that was fun." She spun on her and started to exit the cave. DG stood still.

"Wait."

Az held the lantern up, her eyes wide with horror as she saw a large face made out of rocks staring back at them.

"Whoa!" DG cried.

"What is this place?" Az asked fearfully.

"It looks ancient." DG observed.

_And terrifying, _Az thought. _All the more reason to leave! _

"Maybe it's a tomb," her sister went on.

"I'm not sure but that face creeps me out. Let's go!" Az said firmly.

"Don't you hear it? There's someone trapped in there."

She reached her hand inside the mouth and something on the other side grasped it.

"DG!" Az yelled, reaching for her sister's hand to pull her back. A large piece of the mouth shattered.

"What have we done?" Az asked, horrified.

The cave had been unexplored for so many centuries that Bastinda had begun to lose hope that she would ever escape the prison she been placed in by that silly girl Dorothy Gale and the prince Ozarian. Then suddenly it felt it…the presence of two powerful young sorceresses, a prepubescent girl named Azkadellia and a child nicknamed DG but her true name was Dorothia. She had been named in the honor of the witch's nemesis. She watched with pleasure as the younger girl's arm reached through the keyhole of her prison, unleashing a powerful burst of magic once it was combined with the elder's. Then she felt it, the presence of two of the Guardians of Balance. Keeping a firm grip on the younger girl's hand, Bastinda reached into her heart memories to learn the identity of her bonded. In the girl's memories she saw an image of a tall adult male with short blond hair and blue eyes wearing a grey fedora hat, brown leather vest and grey duster with a tin star badge on his chest. His name was Wyatt Cain. She smiled with satisfaction. Lurline's angel Ozmalita had released Nick Chopper's heart and soul and merged them with Cain's. That meant the girl's heart and soul had been merged with Dorothy Gale's. She probed deeper and was given another vision. The young girl, her elder sister, Rumplestiltskin and another whose face she couldn't see would combine their powers and lock her in Ephesis forever. Now was the time to act. Both girls were unbound and without a bond, consummated or not, their souls were ripe for the taking.

She was in the form of a little girl, standing against the wall sobbing softly.

"Hey, are you okay?" DG asked her. She was about to approach her when Azkadellia took her arm and pulled her back, sensing the girl was not what she appeared to be.

"No. Wait. How did you get here?" she demanded.

"Help me," the girl sobbed.

"Our parents aren't far, we'll go and bring back help."

"NO!" the witch snarled and turned around. "Please, don't leave me alone. I've been waiting….calling…I thought this day would never come!"

The seal now weakened awakened the mobat demons from their slumber in Ephesis. They appeared on the ceiling of the cave, ready to merge with their new vessel.

The two girls stood side by side, hands joined, combining the power flowing through them combined with a deep affection for each other.

"The magic is strong in you. Let go." She said maliciously, keeping her cold eyes focused on the young Dorothia who was terribly frightened.

"No. Don't let go!" Azkadellia warned her younger sister.

"But I'm scared," the little girl whimpered.

"We have to stay together." Azkadellia insisted.

"You can let go little girl," the witch said sweetly to the wide eyed, frightened DG.

"No!" Azkedallia ordered.

"Let go!" the witch hissed.

The little girl screamed in terror and released her sister's hand, fleeing to the entrance of the cave as the witch forced Azkadellia to her knees, merging her essence with the girl's.

_Release me_, Azkadellia demanded.

_Never. As long as you are in my power you will do my bidding._

DG raced through the woods with tears streaming down her cheeks. She found her mother just as they left her, on the swing. Lavinia picked her daughter up and held her tightly.

"DG, my darling you're shaking like a leaf. What's wrong?"

"Az…..she fell…and I let go," the girl sobbed.

"What are you talking about. There's Az right there."

Bastinda returned to the gazebo of the Finaqua palace in Azkadellia's body. It felt wonderful to be young, beautiful and free once again even if she was now limited to the meager powers the young girl possessed.

"Azkadellia?" Queen Lavinia asked. "Are you all right?"

The witch smiled. "Of course Mother. I've never felt better."

Through the elder child she would succeed where she failed centuries earlier, kill all the guardians and at last the dark goddess would rule as queen of the mortal realm and she, Bastinda would be the queen's most loyal servant.

Lavinia had sensed a disturbing change in her eldest daughter's demeanor since her accident yet the girl continued to insist that she was well. She sought out Ambrose, the captain of her personal guard and trusted friend and explained the situation to him.

"The princess's sudden mood changes are normal, Your Majesty. You experienced them yourself when you grew to womanhood, did you not?"

"Yes, but it was not like this Ambrose. She is distant with everyone including DG and that has never happened before. No matter what was troubling her, she never allowed it to interfere in their closeness."

"Perhaps a change of scenery will do some good," he suggested. "Being here brings back reminders of the accident. The Northern Island?"

"We could go there after my visit to Central City. Jeb Mysticos has been asking me to visit for some time now and I have missed him."

"I'll make all the preparations, Your Majesty." He said and left the room, leaving the queen still lost in her dark thoughts. She longed to talk to her husband but Ahamo was at his cabin working on another art piece and never wanted to be disturbed or he lost his concentration. They'd spoken often of Azkadellia's accident and he didn't share his wife's concerns that there was a growing dark presence around her. She and Toto reached into the deepest part of her magic to trace the source only to find a powerful wall blocking her. Azkadellia's magic alone was not strong enough to produce so powerful a barrier. It was good that she would be making the progress to Central City. She had so much more to discuss with the Mystic Man than just his well-being.

Storybrooke, Maine

While her own vessel slept, Alemedia lay awake, a triumphant smile on her face. Now two of the four guardians were under their control. All she had to do now was wait until the time of the final eclipse and then she would return to Oz and bring it into a new age of darkness.


End file.
